Despite the New York Times' report that we're in the midst of a "startup slump&comma;" a staggering percentage of startup leaders would say otherwise&period;

When First Round asked founders whether they think now is a good time to start a business&comma; 94 percent gave a resounding "yes&comma;" according to the State of Startups 2017 report&period; Young people&comma; in particular&comma; are more than ready to flex their entrepreneurial muscles&colon; A 2016 study by Barnes & Noble College found that 22 percent of Gen Zers -- the oldest of whom are just starting college -- plan to own a business in the future&comma; and 13 percent have already achieved that goal in some way&period;

When I started what eventually became NVE Experience Agency&comma; I was in college and didn't have plans to start a business&period; I certainly had no investments -- only a passion to bring people together through networking events&comma; mixers and premieres&period; At a time when Facebook didn't exist&comma; I had to get creative to generate awareness and find people who believed in my idea and would help me achieve my vision&period;

Not every budding business needs a board of mentors and a few million in investments to succeed&period; Aspiring business owners can make the most of their own resources&comma; growing from scratch before breaking into the bigger scene&period;

Starting from the ground up&period;

When I started my business&comma; I quickly ran into the chicken-and-egg problem most entrepreneurs face&colon; I needed a portfolio of work to attract new clients&comma; but to build that portfolio&comma; I needed past clients I didn’t yet have&period;

My approach was proving to my few first clients that even without directly applicable past successes&comma; I had a small arsenal of skills that helped prove my worth&period; Combined with my willingness to push the boundaries of what I thought I could achieve -- even when it meant sounding more authoritative than I felt -- I eventually got those first few clients to bite&period; Here are a few steps you can take to attract valuable clients&comma; no investors necessary&period;

1&period; Invest in revenue drivers -- then reinvest&period;

Invest in the ideas and&comma; more important&comma; the people who drive revenue&period; About 75 percent of early-stage founders agree that hiring is a No&period; 1 concern&comma; yet they spend only about 20 percent of their time on it&comma; according to the State of Startups 2017 report&period;

Once my business was up and running&comma; my next challenge became building upon that success&period; Without investment capital&comma; I had to stay two steps ahead&comma; simultaneously executing one project while finding the next client&period; I struggled to avoid gaps in work and quickly realized that I could not manage every aspect of my business and continue to scale my company&period; With the money from my first contracts&comma; I hired one seasoned event producer&period; Making that investment allowed me to focus on the sales and client acquisition that helped build momentum&period;

If revenue starts to dip&comma; keep pushing to maintain the quality of the service&period; If the idea is good&comma; the revenue will return&comma; but only if the quality of the offering remains consistent -- and you need people to help deliver on that consistency&period;

2&period; Increase earnings by setting goals&period;

When money is tight&comma; saving accomplishes the same goal as earning -- again&comma; as long as the quality of the product doesn’t suffer&period; Increase margins without cutting quality&comma; even if only by a point or two&comma; to facilitate growth&period;

Set concrete goals and timelines to guide the scaling process&period; According to old wisdom from Mark McCormack&comma; author of “What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School&comma;” people who set goals earn more than those who do not&comma; and those who set clear goals in writing earn even more&period; Additionally&comma; the Strategic Management Society found that by simply making a plan&comma; you can increase your success rate by about 16 percent&period;

3&period; Invest in existing clients before expanding&period;

After establishing an initial client base&comma; add a new offering or service before attempting to expand to a new market&period; Sell more than one thing to a crowd of people who are already engaging with the company to increase margins and establish a stronger&comma; more loyal base&period;

Starbucks' customers are notoriously faithful -- so much so that&comma; in 2017&comma; Foursquare crowned them at the top of its "Loyalty Index&comma;" which interprets data from its app users to determine the "average annual visits per customer to each brand&period;" What continues to bring people back is Starbucks' dedication to delivering reliable coffee&comma; but the brand has also branched out to food and occasionally delivers fun drinks such as the Unicorn Frappuccino&period;

The point isn't that you should go build out a rewards program&comma; but rather that you need to truly understand your current customers' or clients' needs and act as a true counselor to meet them&period; Don't simply execute on what's asked of you&semi; instead&comma; get to the root of what will meet and exceed your clients' identified goals&period; That's what deepens relationships and makes clients likelier to increase business with you and refer you to their network&period;

4&period; Invest in yourself&period;

During the early days&comma; I ate&comma; slept and breathed my business -- which didn’t leave me much time to actually eat&comma; sleep or breathe like I needed to&period; Every entrepreneur struggles to set boundaries at first&comma; and I've found that it only becomes increasingly difficult to maintain balance&period;

The lines of balance can get blurred when your work really is your life's passion&period; But taking time to set business tasks aside has helped me learn to recharge and return to work every day with a fresh outlook&comma; which ultimately makes me a better asset to my team and a more open-minded&comma; effective leader&period;

Make sure you set your own routine as you begin your entrepreneurial journey&period; Multiple studies have linked the stress of being overworked to health issues ranging from insomnia to reduce cognitive function&period; On the other hand&comma; according to Dr&period; Kathryn Smerling&comma; a New York City-based psychologist&comma; "The mental and physical benefits of taking time off work include improved sleep&comma; a better headspace&comma; more clarity and increased creativity&period;"

Budding entrepreneurs don’t need to attract big-name VCs and live in trendy cities to get their ideas off the ground&period; Anyone with drive and a bit of ingenuity can start a company from nothing&period;